1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to beverage coolers and more particularly pertains to a new and improved beverage cooler for maintaining the cooling of a beverage inserted therein by both mechanical and heat flow controlling means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of beverage coolers and the like is well known in the prior art. As may be appreciated, these devices have either been of limited effectiveness or have been of such elaborate construction as to resist their being utilized. Compact size, convenience, and ease of handling are all characteristics required in an effective beverage cooler arrangement. In this connection, there have been several attempts to develop beverage cooler device which may be easily and efficiently utilized when desired. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,773,358 to Palmer, et al. illustrates the use of a self-cooling container wherein an enclosed freon capsule is positioned within a hollow wall portion of the container structure and when the freon is released, cooling is accordingly effected. The rather complex and awkward ogrganization of the Palmer patent renders it somewhat ineffective for convenient use.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,495 to Davis illustrates the use of a cooling beverage container illustrates the use of an insertable member to receiving a drinking glass or the like for providing storage thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,677 illustrates the use of a beverage cooling unit wherein a truncated conical organization accepts a like configured glass for maintaining cooling thereof wherein a somewhat rigid exterior wall includes a liner containing a membrane to enclose a liquid refrigerant to maintain coolant about the surface of the positioned glass. The Stoner patent limits the type of containers to be cooled and furthermore, once the refrigerant utilized by Stoner is cooled to a less than liquid state, the insertion or removal of containers from the Stoner apparatus becomes somewhat difficult.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,205,678 also to Stoner is a modification of the previously noted Stoner patent and the rather elaborate construction of the '678 Stoner patent is not of sufficiently unique organization to overcome the problems associated with the previously noted patent. The full wall use of refrigerant renders the use of such coolers somewhat uncomforable and of unnecessarily awkward and complex construction.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,144 to Poris illustrates a container cooler formed with a plural wall organization and a refrigerant formed therebetween in much the same manner as the Stoner device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,068 to Cain sets forth a strap-on coolant unit for a beverage container wherein the refrigerant within the exteriorly positioned cooling element provides limited heat transfer to adequately maintain a beverage at a reduced temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,302,427 to Stoner, et al. is another in a series of such patents to provide a liquid filled cooler wall utilizing a refrigerant to maintain adequate heat transfer to an associated container. A variation by Stoner lies in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,911 wherein a cradle-like clam shell organization is provided with arcuately shaped inner wall surfaces to enable a bottle or the like to lie within the arcuate surfaces defined by the device to maintain cooling of the bottle by the refrigerant secured within the adjacent hollow walls.
French Pat. No. 762,624 to Guerard presents the use of a hollow walled two part container utilizing ice in one portion for enabling heat transfer to the second. A removable top encloses beverages therein in a conventional manner.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved beverage cooling device which addresses both the problem of storage, portability, convenience, and ease of use and in this respect the present invention substantially fulfills this need.